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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23276881">made the angels in her mold</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/karturtle/pseuds/Karturtle'>Karturtle (karturtle)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>i got soul, but i'm not a soldier [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dolores is a real person, F/M, FIVE/DOLORES 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO, I FIXED DAVE AND KLAUS NOW IM FIXING FIVE AND DOLORES TOO, M/M, Sober Klaus, and a dead one too?, can be read as a standalone, dave katz is a good housewife, discussions of death and ghosts, this is gonna be a good one guys</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:08:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,145</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23276881</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/karturtle/pseuds/Karturtle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five's mannequin is back. But now that Klaus is sober, something is.. off.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dave/Klaus Hargreeves, Dolores/Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>i got soul, but i'm not a soldier [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1669951</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>396</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. she's got style, she's got grace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>she's got style, she's got grace<br/>an appetite for expensive taste<br/>made the angels in her mold<br/>feels at home in centerfold</p><p> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKTBMY52DYA">-ace in the hole, saint motel</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The mannequin was back. It started with a D-something. Darla? Deanre? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dolores.” Ben uttered quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s it!” Klaus snapped his fingers, “It was right on the tip of my tongue. Reading my mind today, Benny?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Klaus-” The Klaus in question turned to look at his ghostly brother. They both stood in the entryway of the living room, observing their littlest oldest brother sharing a bright pink margarita with Dolores. It was almost cute, if not slightly disturbing. The margarita had two straws, one pointed towards Five’s… girlfriend? Wife? Partner? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t seen the semi-disturbing mannequin since the back of Five’s van, but here she was again months later. Where’d she run off to, anyways? Was she stuffed in his closet or something?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Part of Klaus was a little bitter that Five was sharing a margarita with a piece of plastic of all things and not him, but- right, sobriety, whatever. Back to the point. Ben was staring at the odd pair with his eyes wide. He looked back and forth between them and Klaus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you seeing this?” Ben demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on, Ben. Live and let live.” Klaus shrugged, waving a hand around airily, “I’m like, the last person that gets to judge, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not- Klaus, no,</span>
  <em>
    <span> look</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Ben hissed, a display of pure irritation. Usually he was apathetic and dry, but this had him <em>upset</em>. He jabbed a finger at Dolores, and Klaus frowned and eyed the mannequin. She was wearing a lovely sequin tank top with an incredibly stylish scarf. He kind of wanted it- maybe he’d borrow it later if Five left Dolores unattended. She probably wouldn’t mind. He looked back and Ben and shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go away, Klaus.” Five slurred from his barstool, having noticed the only other physical person in the room. Hm. Maybe this wasn’t his first margarita. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>busy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t paying attention, Klaus.” Ben snapped, jabbing his finger again. Klaus sighed and rolled his eyes. It was just Five, his girlfriend, his margarita, and the usual rotation of ghosts that tagged along with the kid. Klaus was getting better with his powers and they were a little easier to tune out. Quieter, at least, and that’s what mattered. Mostly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone’s a little testy today.” Klaus commented, earning a glare from both Ben and Five.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get </span>
  <em>
    <span>lost</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Klaus.” Five growled, “You’re not allowed here. Not while I’m drinking. Go be</span>
  <em>
    <span> sober</span>
  </em>
  <span> somewhere else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, that was tactless even for him.” Klaus said mildly, raising his brow. Ben jabbed his finger yet again, ignoring Five entirely. “What? What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t one of those ghosts look</span>
  <em>
    <span> familiar </span>
  </em>
  <span>to you?” His ghost brother asked sharply, stalking forward. At their mention, Five’s dead entourage all turned to look at the two. Klaus hissed out air between his teeth, trying to ignore the instinctive pang of fear that came with all-dead-eyes on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except, one ghost didn’t look. One ghost ignored him entirely, which immediately caught Klaus’ attention. It wasn’t often that a ghost just.. didn’t care he was there. Usually they were all zeroed in on him, especially if his powers were having a haywire day. But no. This one, a tall, tall woman with sharp features, a shaved head, and a sequined dress - it reminded him of something an old 50's flapper ghost used to wear - was stood behind the bar, watching Five intently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took a moment for it to click.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait. Is that..?” Klaus asked, hushed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ghost said something quietly with her perfectly painted, ruby red lips. Five rolled his eyes dramatically, heaving out a sigh. “It’s not my fault he barged in.” He said, and Klaus’ mouth fell open. She said something else, and their brother made a small aggravated noise. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Ben or Klaus could react, Five grabbed the margarita with one hand and the mannequin with the other, vanishing in a flash of blue. All of the ghosts disappeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dolores included.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit.” Ben and Klaus said simultaneously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that actually-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She looked just like--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The brothers turned to stare at each other, wide eyed and stunned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not hallucinating?” Klaus asked, just to make sure, “You saw that. Is.. is Dolores real? Ben?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I don’t know.” Ben said quietly, looking back to where the woman had been standing. “I think he </span>
  <em>
    <span>heard</span>
  </em>
  <span> her, Klaus. Did you see? It was like they were talking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude.” Klaus breathed. “I know Five is haunted as shit, but could he actually..?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.” Ben repeated, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both stood there, stunned. How did one take the news that their brother’s mannequin girlfriend thing was actually being… what, haunted? By the</span>
  <em>
    <span> actual</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dolores? And Five could </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear her</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, Klaus’ life was weird. Really fucking weird. He knew that and knew it well- embraced it on his better days. Mostly. But this? This was off the wall </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird</span>
  </em>
  <span>. How could Five possibly be hearing a ghost? That was</span>
  <em>
    <span> Klaus' </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing! He though he had exclusivity to the nightmare of hearing them nonstop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could always… talk to her?” Ben suggested slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I don’t know how to talk to her with Five there.” Klaus admitted, fidgeting with his hands, “I mean, we don’t even know how those two.. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Work</span>
  </em>
  <span>. How Five, um, sees it or does it.” He took a deep breath and blew it out through his lips, tilting his head in thought. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our brother can be a little… horrible. Sometimes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Ben replied. “You’re- yeah. That won’t end well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if…” Klaus chewed his lip as he thought, rocking from foot to foot, “What if one of us distracts him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then the other can ask her why the hell she’s..?” Ben trailed off, and Klaus nodded. “Alright, I guess that’s as good a plan as we’re going to get.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>About an hour later, after careful planning - Klaus rapidly throwing out ideas, Ben turning down most of them for being too elaborate or just plain stupid - they stood at the landing of the staircase leading to their rooms and made eye contact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready?” Ben asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“FIVE!” Klaus shouted, darting down the hallway and skidding to a stop in front of his brother’s doorway. “Five! Hey!” The door was only cracked shut, so Klaus shoved it open and stared wide eyed at his still-slightly-drunk brother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesus- What do you want now, Klaus?” Five demanded sharply, slumped over a notebook at his desk, the mannequin perched next to it. His expression was furious and grumpy in a way Klaus couldn’t quite take seriously. Ben stepped around Klaus and walked further into the room, eyeing a single ghost among the seven or so that were in there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your new suit </span>
  <em>
    <span>sucks</span>
  </em>
  <span> and I’m lighting it on fire!” Was all Klaus blurted out before dashing off back down the hall towards the stairs. Ben absently hoped he didn't trip and eat shit whilst he ran.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five widened his eyes and swore. “Arson isn’t funny, Klaus!” He vanished in a flash of blue, taking the usual herd of ghosts with him. Except for one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so you’re not haunting Five, just the mannequin.” Ben muttered, mostly to himself, but the bald woman standing next to the desk looked up at him. He made eye contact with her and they sized each other up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was different than most ghosts Ben encountered. There were a few different kinds, he found, depending on when they died and how they died. There were decades, even centuries old ghouls that had descended into madness and rage, to where they barely resembled people. Those plagued Klaus the most. On the opposite end were ghosts like Ben - and possibly Dolores - that had a focus. Some, of course, used their focus on a specific human to direct hate and anger- usually having been hurt or murdered by them. Klaus easily caught the attention of those ghosts too, as they were always looking for someone to complain to and rant at. But some were more like guardian angels, following relatives around after they died. Those didn’t seem to acknowledge Klaus or Ben at all, focused on their self imposed task or unfinished business.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ben was sort of in the latter, but despite his tendency to nag his brother, he mostly used his unusually strong connection to Klaus to stay </span>
  <em>
    <span>whole</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Probably a side effect of Klaus’ powers that he was as sane and coherent as he was when he was alive, if not more bitter and jaded.. When Klaus disappeared for hours to Vietnam of all places, Ben felt.. Lost. Adrift. He hated every second of it, latching himself onto Klaus again as soon as he appeared in the correct timeline.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He understood, then, how other ghosts saw Klaus like a beacon. Maybe they craved to be whole just like Ben did. He didn’t have any </span>
  <em>
    <span>sympathy</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the banes of his brothers existence, per-se, but.. Yeah. He understood them in a way he didn’t think Klaus could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dolores- Or what he assumed was Dolores.. he didn’t know where she fell on the spectrum yet. But her eyes were intelligent and discerning as she gazed at him. She didn’t look like a fragment or a shadow of a person, but she wasn’t..</span>
  <em>
    <span> attached</span>
  </em>
  <span> to Five the way other guardian types were. Her center point seemed to be the mannequin that bore a striking resemblance to her. The sharp makeup, thin eyebrows, buzzed scalp. One arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><em>One arm</em>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dolores?” Ben asked skeptically. Her painted lips curved into a smile, her head tilting slightly to the side.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Five thundered into the kitchen, eyes as ablaze as the fire he was tracking down. He quickly assessed the room and then snapped his gaze towards his most promising informant. Dave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their rehabilitated soldier, Klaus’ soon to be husband, was wearing one of Grace’s aprons. A long yellow and white flowered, polka dotted thing. He was rolling out dough by her side, eagerly explaining what he was doing. Grace, for once, wasn’t cooking at all- her attention was on Dave and she was listening patiently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry I don’t know the perfect measurements.” He said, “My ma always eyeballed how thick she rolled them. I think this is around right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That height appears to be a fourth of an inch.” She informed him, smiling encouragingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so, I’ll take it.” Dave agreed easily, “She shipped these over to me in ‘Nam a few times. They were stale and falling apart by the time I got ‘em and the filling was like chewing on taffy, but Klaus seemed to love them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where is he?” Five chose that moment to barge into the room and the conversation, eyeing the soldier critically. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shi- shoot. Hey, Five.” Dave jumped at his appearance but still greeted him, good-natured as ever. Five was pissed and didn’t appreciate his pleasant attitude one bit. “Stick around and we’ll have fresh hamantaschen.” He continued. Cookies, Five's mind supplied. Irrelevant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you heard me, David.” He snapped. “Where’s your <em>two bit, hair brained idiot</em> of a fiance?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man hummed, going back to rolling out the rest of his dough. “He’s more of a three bit kinda guy.” Dave replied instead of saying anything useful. Five disliked this about the man- he was far too nice and had to get </span>
  <em>
    <span>small talk</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of the way, make remarks only he thought was funny, and have a ‘real conversation’ before saying anything of value. Five wasn' in the mood. He wanted information, and he wanted it </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where is he</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dave?” Five demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look like you’re about to murder him, so I’m gonna go ahead and say I don’t know.” Dave shrugged a shoulder. Another thing he hated was how he rarely took Five seriously. You save a guy's life <em>once</em> and then he thinks you're all buddy buddy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, do you want me to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” He demanded, nails digging into his palms as his fists clenched, “Okay! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please</span>
  </em>
  <span> tell me where your </span>
  <em>
    <span>abomination</span>
  </em>
  <span> of a fiance is before he lights my belongings on <em>fire</em>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hell.” Dave sighed. He ran into this kind of problem often. He didn’t want Klaus to be the subject of his siblings’ rage, but Klaus also happened to be one of the most infuriating people alive and committed minor atrocities on the regular. “..he ran through that door and headed down the street.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you just </span>
  <em>
    <span>let him</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Five seethed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dave shrugged. “He’s a free spirit." A pause. "Don’t hurt him too bad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five snarled and vanished.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. lucky sevens come up eights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“It’s about time.” The woman said in a deeper, huskier voice than he expected, leaning against the desk with her palms bracing her. She still smiled, but it wasn’t particularly happy or kind. More like a knowing smirk. It reminded him of Five. “I thought I would have met you and your brother months ago. When Five explained his brother saw ghosts… well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Ben blinked, shoving his hands in his pockets. Weird. This was weird. He didn’t usually interact with other ghosts. “Klaus was a bit… occupied.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I noticed.” She replied mildly, “So you finally wanted to talk?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well.. yeah.” Ben considered his next words carefully. “Um. Hey. My name is Ben.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyebrows raised a fraction and she seemed amused, because of course she knew his name already. “Dolores Delgato.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Delgato.” He repeated, “Spanish?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five always said you </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> the smartest.” She tilted her head, “When he wasn’t bragging about himself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Klaus is the language expert, actually.” He deflected, “Anyways. Um. Nice to meet you. And to confirm you aren’t actually just a piece of plastic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hummed and lifted a hand, running her fingertips along the bald head of her mannequin counterpart while she eyed him. “Not ‘just’ a piece of plastic, no.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was all she said on the subject. Dolores wasn’t making it particularly easy to keep the conversation going, and the way she watched him made him feel small and had him reconsidering some of his more obvious questions and statements. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>reminded him of Five. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry.” He found himself saying. “I should’ve noticed sooner.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should’ve.” She shrugged a shoulder, “But you didn’t need to. The only person I really needed to speak to was Five. Speaking of, I recommend you get your questions in quickly before he comes back. We were in the middle of something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, if he didn’t feel awkward </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span>.. “So you guys are.. close.” Ben commented slowly, “How does he see you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tapped the mannequin on the forehead with a single finger.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right. Okay.” So her ghost didn’t actually appear to Five. “Does he only hear you then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re being too simplistic.” She replied, “You already know the answer to that. What do you really want to ask, Six?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Straight to the point, just like Five. It was getting a little eerie, the similarities, but if they spent the apocalypse together it made sense. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>How</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you getting through to him?” Ben did what she said and asked, furrowing his brow. “How does this </span>
  <em>
    <span>work?</span>
  </em>
  <span> If I could’ve been speaking to any of my other siblings in death, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>would’ve</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but I have to use Klaus to pierce the veil.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now you’re thinking.” She replied, placing her hand on her mannequin’s shoulder. “I don’t know exactly how your brother’s powers work, I’ll admit. But then again, neither does he. There’s no hard and concrete science for being dead, so I don’t blame the two of you.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“From what I’ve observed, certain individuals are more capable of seeing through what you call ‘the veil’.” Her pleasant smile seemed to turn bitter. “Especially those with lessened mental capacities.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“..Wait.” His mind started filling in the blanks quickly. “Are you saying Five had to go crazy with isolation to see- hear you?” Ben asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you want to put it like that.” She shrugged a skinny shoulder. “That’s my current theory.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But how did you know to talk to him? Why not any</span>
  <em>
    <span> other</span>
  </em>
  <span> ghost?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess you could simply say I’m not just any other ghost.” Dolores looked away from him finally, looking towards her counterpart and picking at the scarf hung around it’s shoulders. “Did you know that this mannequin is something of an antique?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You haunt the mannequin. You even look like her.” Ben stated. “Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I look how I want to look.” She answered only the second question, even going so far as to materialize the scarf on the mannequin onto her ghostly form. “Five helps.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From that, Ben assumed she meant he helped with clothing. However.. “..You’re bald.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Try maintaining a wig in the apocalypse.” She looked back to Ben, no trace of a smile. “Why bother? It’s more pragmatic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But why are you haunting a mannequin?” He asked, started to get frustrated. She even dodged questions like Five. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you die, Number Six?” He froze at the sudden question. Unamused, she watched him sharply. “Tell me. Every detail. Go on, I’ll wait.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. He didn’t want to get into it and it showed. She nodded, seeming to find her answer. It was then that Five barged in again, looking rumbled and livid. No Klaus in sight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your </span>
  <em>
    <span>new suit</span>
  </em>
  <span> is in your closet still.” Dolores commented, turning her head to give Five her undivided attention. Ben felt distinctly forgotten, though he knew she could still see and hear him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was just- I’m a little--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re drunk.” She supplied flatly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was going to say frazzled, thank you very much.” Five sniffed, “The idiot just wanted to send me on a wild goose chase. Probably assumed I was having a breakdown and wanted to distract me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you have those often?” She asked. Five stayed silent. “You didn’t answer my question earlier.” Dolores changed the subject easily, and Ben wondered if he was supposed to be hearing any of this. Surely she’d give him a sign or even just tell him to get lost if she needed to, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, well, we were interrupted.” Five moved back to his seat at his desk, avoiding eye contact with her. “What was the question again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her expression dropped, and she watched him with the same piercing eyes that had Ben squirming earlier. “Five.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just-” Five lifted a hand and ran it through his hair, sending it every which way. She let out an impatient sigh through her nose. “I just wanted to catch up. Is that so bad?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You always have something else in mind. I know you, Five.” She seemed to force her expression into something more patient. “What is this about?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Damn it</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You always do this.” He hissed, blinking hard. “Fine. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>missed</span>
  </em>
  <span> you.” Five said, looking at her with angry, shining eyes, “Is that a crime?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her gaze turned onto Ben again, sharp. He found himself shrinking back slightly. If that wasn’t his cue to leave, he didn’t know what was, so he turned around and stepped through the veil, leaving the two alone.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“You’re such a narc.” Is what Ben appeared in the room to. He looked at Klaus, bewildered, but it wasn’t him Klaus was talking to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His brother was fussing at Dave while he sat on top of the kitchen table. Ben couldn’t tell if he was pouting or if it was just the swollen lip Five had apparently given him. They should’ve planned for something like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t threaten to burn things just to get a rise out of him.” Dave argued, gently pressing a bag of frozen veggies to his </span>
  <span>fiancé</span>
  <span>’s face. “And I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> tell him not to hurt you too bad, but I- I didn’t think he’d actually punch you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Five?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Klaus stressed, rearing back in disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not that hard at least. Or in the face.” To his credit, Dave did look bothered by it. Of course he did. He was Klaus’ knight in shining armor. “But my younger brother punched me in the arm all the time-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>assassin!</span>
  </em>
  <span> He isn’t going to just slug me in the shoulder and call it a day, Dave! And have you seen the ‘gouge’ poster in the hall yet, or do we need to take a field trip?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben scoffed, catching Klaus’ attention. “There you are!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His bruising face was forgotten as quickly as it probably happened. Ben figured he was hamming it up to make Dave feel sorry for him. And while he didn’t really </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> Klaus to be hurt, he knew his brother could take an innocent punch or ten. They all could. Besides- what Dave didn’t know was that this was payback from Mr. Big’s office. Good times.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope I bought you enough time to talk to you-know-who?” Klaus said, tilting his head and giving Ben a meaningful wink. Right in front of Dave, who looked confused as he set a hand on Klaus’ knee.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“..Klaus, why were you distracting Five?” Dave asked through a put-upon sigh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um.” Klaus eyed Ben, who shrugged. Was what they were doing that big a secret? Even if it was, Dave probably wouldn’t stop them unless they were being stupid. And Ben was in on it, so the chances of that were at least halved. He’d be more supportive of himself, but the conversation with Dolores left him feeling kind of dumb, to be honest. Much like a conversation with Five.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fuck. This whole thing was so weird, and Ben was </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead</span>
  </em>
  <span> for God’s sake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a narc.” Klaus decided, “You’re with The Man. I can’t trust you anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Man can suck it. I’m with you.” Dave replied simply, “Also, I’m about to pull out cookies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus perked up. “Did you really? The hamantaschen?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep.” The soldier looked imploringly at Klaus, waiting for him to give up the jig. Klaus heaved a dramatic sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, I maybe sent Ben to spy on Five’s mannequin girlfriend.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dave blinked. “I have the worst feeling that by ‘mannequin’ you aren’t just talking about her looks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I am.” Klaus shrugged a shoulder. “But she’s also made of plastic and her main purpose is to showcase blouses.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right.” Dave replied, “Hey, can I talk to Ben? I think Five maybe shook your brain a little.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t be like that.” Klaus whined.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben moved to sit next to Klaus on the table. “Make me visible.” He ordered. Klaus gave him a sour look, but they both knew he couldn’t exactly say no. Klaus sighed and closed his eyes, focusing. His hands started shimmering blue, and Ben was abruptly thrown back into the land of the living.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Dave.” He greeted with a nod.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Ben.” Dave smiled, “Have you guys worked out if you can eat stuff yet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can only taste so far.” He shrugged a shoulder. The soldier nodded, satisfied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’ll work.” He decided, “So. Five’s… mannequin?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When he came back a few months ago, he started lugging this mannequin around. We figured out it was his only company in the apocalypse.” Ben explained, drumming his fingers on the table and enjoying the sound and the vibrations.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that. But it turns out there’s more than meets the eye.” Klaus said ominously, reaching out to take Dave’s free hand and lace their fingers together. “See, she disappeared for awhile but now she’s back. And it turns out she’s</span>
  <em>
    <span> haunted?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He looked to Ben for clarification, raising his eyebrows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dolores is a real person. Or- a real ghost.” Ben confirmed, “She’s haunting the mannequin. The weird thing is, Five can actually</span>
  <em>
    <span> hear</span>
  </em>
  <span> her.” He turned his head to address his brother. “He can’t see her ghost, but he hears her. I heard them have a real conversation. No bullshit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus hummed. Dave frowned in contemplation (and confusion, because he still wasn’t entirely used to Hargreeves Family Bullshit), gently putting the frozen peas back on Klaus’ lip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So he’s less psychotic than we thought.” Klaus commented mildly, his voice a bit muffled by the peas, “That’s always nice to hear.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well.” Ben paused, “Apparently the only reason he can hear her is because his mental state is.. ‘unstable’. According to Dolores.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn. She’s savage.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Ben sighed, “She’s really… savage is a good way to put it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he okay?” Dave asked, eyebrows knitting together in concern. The other two looked to him in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, this is Five’s normal. No worries.” Klaus replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But if that’s the only reason he can hear.. Dolores, right? Doesn’t that mean he needs help? If he’s unstable..”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um.” Ben said intelligently. He hadn’t exactly made that connection yet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh.” Klaus grimaced. “That’s.. That’s a bit of a pickle, isn’t it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were interrupted by the oven dinging. Dave brightened up, brightening up Klaus by proxy, and Ben rolled his eyes.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i have no idea how long this is going to be or where to stop it. we're just going with it. i dont plan things out. anyways dolores is my wife now, five can get in line.</p>
<p>let me know what you think! im on tumblr at @karturtle if you wanna chat</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ITS FOUR IN THE MORNING! I DONT KNOW WHAT IM DOING! SOCIAL ISOLATION HAS NO RULES!!!!!</p><p>i had this idea and could not stop writing it, but then decided to throw it in this series as an extension of the war is over. this fic is placed further in the future but fits right at home with the main one.</p><p>feedback is REALLY appreciated for this! tell me what you think! im going to sleep now! im on tumblr at @karturtle!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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